There were so many reasons to play for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's soccer team on Wednesday night at home against UW-Platteville. First, the Shaymus Guinn Cup was at stake. Second, it was senior night. And last, a potential trip to the NCAA DIII Tournament is looming.

The Warhawk men stepped up, led by their seniors, to defeat the Pioneers 3-0, capture the Shaymus Guinn Cup, move to 13-5-1 and improve their chances at receiving an NCAA DIII Pool B or Pool C bid.

UW-W sped out to a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute of play when Kyle Clancy (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) sent a towering corner kick into the box that found the head of a leaping Hozai Ceballos (Janesville, Wis./Janesville Craig) for his tenth goal of the season.

As the half wore on, UW-W maintained most of the momentum, outshooting the Pioneers 9-5, but neither team was able to score.

The Warhawks earned another corner in the 57th minute and used the exact same formula as their first goal to take a two goal lead.

The Pioneers never really generated many quality scoring opportunities in the second half.

UW-W added an insurance goal in the 81st minute to go up 3-0. Ceballos launched a throw-in about thirty yards in the air to an airborne Jack Wirth (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee) who tipped it towards Isaac Monson (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North) who pushed it in for his first goal of the season.

With the double-assist, each senior registered a point on senior night. Clancy had two points with two assists, Monson two for his goal, and Wirth one for his assist.

The win also meant the Warhawks regain possession of the Shaymus Guinn Cup. The cup was created to honor UW-Whitewater head coach Tony Guinn's son, Shaymus, who passed away in December 2012 at the age of 11 after a five-year battle against E-Wing Sarcoma and chemo-induced acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

UW-W, the winners of six in a row and 12 of their last 14, will now wait for the announcement of the 62-team field in the NCAA DIII Tournament. The announcement will take place at noon (CST) on Monday, November 5 on NCAA.com.

The UW-Whitewater men's soccer team is not a part of a conference and therefore cannot automatically qualify for the NCAA DIII Tournament. The Warhawks must earn an at-large bid, or selection, that is made by an NCAA committee that uses preset criteria to determine the remainder of the field once the 42 automatic qualifiers are set.

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